December 11, 2006

Audiences like Apocalypto

Gibson movie opens at No. 1The R-rated chase story set in the last days of the Maya empire drew solid but not spectacular crowds with $14.2 million in box-office receipts. To Walt Disney Co., the film's distributor, it overcame industry doubts about Gibson's marketability after his well-publicized anti-Semitic tirade and drunk-driving arrest this July in Malibu.

"They judged the movie, not the man," said Chuck Viane, Disney's president of distribution. "It's so hard to get noticed in this crowded marketplace, but here is a film that on its face said, 'I'm fresh, I'm creative, I'm different,' and people responded to that."

1 comment:

Rob said...

I have copies of the river-crossing photo with and without Gibson in it. Sure, he's devoted to his craft--the craft of drenching the screen in blood. People like his movies for the same reason they like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.